Just because he was an idiot? Or had Michael never before had a reputation as a serious guy you don't want to screw around with? Did Johnny Boy have a death wish? His whole speech about how he was laughing at Michael seemed almost intent on provoking Michael to burn for revenge.
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The key is in the scene when he says "i'm a big shot"; he's trying to carve a name for himself and standing up for himself and showing off (he did seem to enjoy it) in that one scene seems to be his solution. He seems annoyed somewhat that Michael keeps badgering him about the money and of course as we all know he isn't too smart. He also seems to be a very self-destructive person and likes to cause drama. He just doesn't care.
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Makes sense.
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I guess you could say that Johnny Boy didn't take anyone or anything seriously.
The prostitution rests. - Kelly Bundy
I think that De Niro played Johnny as a borderline retard. The kid had issues
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He has brain damage since he was beaten by cops.
sharethis
he didn't take himself or his own life seriously
he was reckless in every aspect
can't remember him running or demonstrating any sense of self preservation at any point during the film
Too much ego, too much pride, and quite clearly being a little simple in the head. The guy's lazy, he doesn't go to work, he doesn't take his situation seriously, because he doesn't care.
waste of good scotch
Too much ego, too much pride, and quite clearly being a little simple in the head. The guy's lazy, he doesn't go to work, he doesn't take his situation seriously, because he doesn't care.
He was so wreckless its a wonder he lived this long!
Its that man again!!
Because he was nuts!
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He was brain damaged from a beating he took from some cops a while back. It is explained.
shareBecause of his friendship with Charlie, he didn't think he had to pay anyone back other than Charlie, or someone above Charlie. Charlie only enabled the ineptitude by constantly bailing him out.
shareI was thinking that Michael didn't seem that much older than Johnny Boy, so he may have seen it like he didn't respect him as one beyond his age group. I mean, we all had one friend that always acted far past their years (good or bad). Great character, total loose cannon.
shareJohnny seem to me to be a punk, with no desire to better himself. He wants money but didn't want to work for it or even steal it.
Johnny was so lazy that he lived by borrowing money from the people he knew. And when he stupidly borrowed from from the mob, will he was basically carrying around a death sentence from the start.
I know Johnny is suppose to be portrayed as a likeable character from Charlie's perspective. However, I don't know how true this was for the audience. Johnny came off as a jerk who words mean nothing. He didn't even care about family or Charlie who treated him like a brother.
Mean Streets is an interesting story about what not to do.